Apparel



Nov. 18, 930. T. J. HOWLAND APPAREL Filed May 5, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 among:

Nov. 18, 1930.

T. J. HOWLAND 1,781,842

APPAREL Findla 5, 1930 2 Sheets-Shut 2 i7 swam to 7700mm Jfiowlajut,

Patented Nov. 18, 1930 UNITED STATES THOMAS J'. HOWLAND, OF LONG BRANCH, NEW JERSEY APPAREL Application filed May 5, 1930. Serial No. 449,800.

This invention relates to bathing caps and provides for a cap which forms a watertight seal along its edge and prevents moisture from penetrating within the interior of the 6 cap.

A great variety of methods have been proposed for rendering bathing caps watertight, but most of them have not proved very satisfactory. A simple rubber cap is far 10 from satisfactory and moisture generally seeps in at the edge of the cap rendering the cap totally ineffective for the purpose for which it is used.

The present invention provides a bathing 1 cap which is adapted to form a watertight seal along the edge of the cap. This is accomplished without excessive tightening at the edge portion which would bind the head and cause discomfort to the wearer.

In my prior Patent No. 1,746,477 I have disclosed a bathing cap inwhich the inside edge of the cap is provided with a plurality of cups or air pockets formed by ribs projecting from the cap towards the inside, and adapted to contact with the head of the wear er of the cap. In said patent the ribs are in close engagement with the skin along the edge of the cap and present a series of sealing surfaces separated by air pockets.

In my copending application Serial No. 411,104, a modification of the invention covered by my aforesaid patentis disclosed. In said application the cups or air pockets are formed into a plurality of spaced bands so that a channel or channels will be formed between the respective groups, which form a trap for any water which might find its way past the lower group of cups or air pockets.

I have now found that a very effective seal may be provided by ribs encircling the inside edge of the cap.

It has already been proposed to obtain a watertight seal around the edge of a bathing cap by using pneumatic tubes along the edge to increase the pressure with which the cap grips the head. However, such caps have not been entirely satisfactory due partially to the fact that tubes are generally round and the pressure of the water causes a rolling action of the tube which permits the passage of water beneath the edge of the cap.

The object of the present invention is to provide a bathin cap having encircling ribs on the inside, a jacent the edge which will effectively prevent the passage of water into the cap. To this end, I construct the ribs of such dimensions that the desired flexibility of the cap is maintained, and form them of a contour such that the proper gripping effect is obtained. If the ribs are too broad the gripping effect is not as strong and there is a tendency for the cap to become too stiff or to toughen up around the edges, and the cap is made uncomfortable for the wearer. On the other hand, the ribs must at all times maintain their upright position if a proper gripping effect and consequently a watertight seal is to be obtained.

To ensure the proper gripping eflect being obtained without rendering the cap uncomfortable for wear, I make the ribs relatively narrow and prevent their collapsing or upsetting by special bracing means, which maintain the ribs upright under all conditions but which do not at all interfere with the ribs making a close contact with the skin of the wearer. I also, in the preferred form of the invention, form the contacting edge of the ribs with outwardly extending fins. These fins sink into the flesh more readily than the ribs themselves and serve somewhat as entering wedges and ensure a close contact with the skin along the whole surface of the ribs. These fins also tend to maintain the stability of the ribs in that they tend to prevent any rolling or upsetting of the ribs, particularly when there is a violent motion of the head.

As the contour of the head is uite irregular, it is desirable to vary the helght of the encircling ribs at different places along the edge of the cap, in order to form the most effective water seal commensurate with the comfort of the wearer. As ones forehead is substantially irregular in contour, the ribs need not be very high or may even be nonexistant at this position of the cap. On the other hand. the ribs should be of substantial height at the portions of the cap which are opposite that portion of the head beneath the ears, in order to fit into the depressions at those places. Other portions of the head vary in irregularity between these two extremes and the height of the ribs will, of course, vary accordingly.

For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawing and description, but it is to be understood that this more detailed description is merely an exemplification of the invention, and that the same is not limited thereto except as set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings;

Figure l is a vertical sectional view through the cap;

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken through the rim of the cap;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a face view of a portion of the inside of the rim of the cap;

Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are views similar to Fig. 4, but showing modified arrangements of the braces for the encircling'ribs;

Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 are enlarged cross sectional views showing modified forms of encircling ribs, and

Fig. 13 is a sectional View through a bathing shoe showing the invention applied thereto.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a bathing cap comprising a main ortion of elastic material which is shaped to t the general contour of the head.

Arranged around the inside of the cap adjacent the edge are a plurality of encircling ribs 2 and 3. In the drawings two such ribs are shown, but it is to be understood that this number may be increased or decreased if desired.

The encircling ribs are made relatively narrow so that the desired flexibility of the cap is maintained, and also for the purpose of obtaining the proper gripping effect. As the ribs are relatively narrow there is a tendency for them to collapse or upset when the cap is placed upon the head of the wearer. To prevent such collapsing or upsetting, of the ribs and to ensure their maintenance in upright position at all times, there is provided at spaced intervals reinforcing braces 4 integrally formed with the ribs and cap body. As shown in Fig. 3, these braces are substantially triangular in shape, and are highest at the point where they connect with the ribs 2 and 3.

As it is essential that the watertight seal/ be formed around the e ge of the cap, the edge of the ribs which engage the body of the wearer are, in the preferred form of the invention, formed with outwardly extending fins 5. When the cap is placed on the head of the wearer the elasticity of the material composing the main portion of the cap will press the fins 5 into the flesh and effect the watertight seal along the whole surface of the rib. In addition to preventing the passage of water beneath the respective ribs the fins 5 also assist in maintaining the stability of the ribs in that they permit the ribs to shift slightly on the head articularly when there is a violent motion 0 the head without losing contact with the body of the wearer during shifting.

In order to permit this shifting of the ribs on the head it is desirable, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, that the braces should be, at all places, of a height less than the ribs. If the braces are as high as the ribs at any point they will tend to interfere with the shifting of the ribs.

Inasmuch as the contour of ones head is more or less irregular, the encircling ribs are made of varying heights around the cap. For instance, there is a substantial indentation or depression in each side of the head just below the juncture between the rear portion of the jaw and the head. Therefore, that portion of the ribs which would overlie the head at those places are made of substantially greater height than the portion which, for instance, would overlie the forehead, where the contour of the head is generally quite regular. In fact, the portions of the ribs which overlie the forehead may be exceedingly low or even non-existant, as an ordinary bathing cap will, in most instances, make a watertight sea-l around the forehead. In a like manner, the ribs opposite the portions of the head just forward and backward of the ears should be of substantial height, but need not be as high as those portions opposite the depressions beneath the ears. Likewise, the portions of the ribs at other places may be made of Varying heights so that the con tour of their contacting edges will at all places be generally complementarv to the contour of the head.

At those places where the ribs are made higher to compensate for irregularities in the contour of the head, the braces 4 will be made correspondingly higher, as a higher rib will require a higher brace to maintain it in upright position.

The close engagement which the ribs make with the head of the wearer, together with pressure caused by the elasticity of the body portion, will prevent the cap from being pulled off of the head, thus eliminating the necessity of a chin strap. However, a chin strap 6 may be attached to the outer edge of the main portion of the cap to increase the pressure along the edge of the cap, particularly at those portions which are opposite the main depressions on each side of the head.

In Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 there are shown modified arrangements of the braces which maintain the rib in upright position. In each of Figs. 5, 6 and 8 the braces lie wholly within the space between the two ribs and extend entirely across the space. In Fig. 5 the braces 7 are in the form of an X in that they diverge both ways from a point midway between the ribs until they meet the ribs. In Fig. 6 the braces 8 are of zigzag arrangement, while in Fig. 8 the braces 9 are parallel to each other and normal to the ribs.

In Fig. 7 the braces 4 for each rib lie on the side of the rib remote from the edge of the cap and are arranged in pairs which converge together at their thin edges.

WVhile the ribs of the preferred form of the invention have their contacting edges formed with skin-engaging fins 5, other forms of ribs may be used. Several modified forms of ribs are shown in Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12.

In Fig. 9 the ribs 10, instead of having a single tin as do the ribs of the preferred form. have thin skin-engaging edges serrated to form a plurality of fin-like projections 11 which embed themselves into the flesh.

In Fig. 10, the skin-engaging edges of the ribs 12 are of substantially V-shape. with the apex 13 directed towaid the body of the wearer so that it will ensure close engagement of the rib with the skin.

The ribs 14 of Fig. 11 have their skin-engaging edges outwardly concave to provide a relatively sharp edge 15 at each edge of the rib to engage the skin.

The rib 16 of Fig. 12 has its contacting edge made smooth. A rib having a smooth contacting edge will not embed itself into the flesh of the wearer as effectively as will a rib having a surface formed with one or more finlike portions, but such a rib will be satisfac tory under certain conditions.

The use of encircling ribs as disclosed here in for making a watertight seal around the edge of a garment, although having been described in detail in connection with a bathing cap. need not be so confined, and they may be used in connection with apparel generally. For instance, in Fig. 13 there is shown a bathing shoe 17 having encircling ribs 18 applied to the inside of the upper edge thereof. These ribs will not only effectively keep water out of the shoes. but also keep out sand, gravel, mud, etc. The ribs when applied to shoes may be made of varying height to compensate for irregularities of the contour of the foot in the region of the ankle. and in such cases the portions which lie opposite the parts of the foot just backward of the ankle bone will have the greatest height, as the foot has a considerable depression at those places.

In the appended claims the term peripherally extending is used to define the direction of the rib and is not a term of limitation to define the extent to which the rib extends around the inside edge of the article.

I claim:

1. An article of apparel comprising a main portion and an elastic body-gripping edge portion, said edge portion having on the inside a relatively narrow, peripherally-extending rib for maintaining a substantially watertight seal between the edge portion and the body of the wearer, and bracing means for maintaining the rib in upright postion, said braces being of a height less than the rib at corresponding places.

2. An article of apparel comprising a main portion and an elastic body-gripping edge portion, said edge portion having on the inside a relatively narrow, peripherally-extending rib for maintaining a substantially watertight seal between the edge portion and the body of the wearer, said rib having its body-contacting edge of reduced area, and bracing means for maintaining the rib in upright position, said bracing means being of a height less than the rib at corresponding places.

3. An article of apparel comprising a main portion and an elastic body-gripping edge portion, said edge portion having on the inside a relatively narrow, peripherally-extending rib for maintaining a substantially watertight seal between the edge portion and the body of the wearer, said rib having an inwardly extending fin projecting from its contacting edge adapted to be embedded in the flesh of the wearer, and bracing means for maintaining the rib in upright position and the fin in its embedded position.

4. An article of apparel comprising a main portion and an elastic body-gripping edge portion, said edge portion having on the inside a relatively narrow, peripherally-extending rib for maintaining a substantially watertight seal between the edge portion and the body of the wearer, said rib having an inwardly extendin fin projecting from its contacting edge, and bracing means for maintaining the rib in upright position, said bracing means being of a height less than the ribs at corresponding places.

5. An article of bathing apparel comprising a substantially watertight pocket of flexible material having an elastic body-gripping I edge portion, said edge portion having on the inside a relatively narrow, peripherallyextending rib for maintaining a substantially watertight seal between the edge portion and the body of the wearer, and bracing means for maintaining the rib in upright position, said bracing means being of a height less than the rib at corresponding places.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

THOMAS J. HOWLAND. 

